MISRATA, Libya — Flamboyant and grandiose in life, Moammar Gadhafi was buried in secrecy and anonymity, laid to rest in an unmarked grave before dawn in the Libyan desert that was home to his Bedouin tribal ancestors.

The burial ended the gruesome spectacle of Gadhafi’s decaying corpse on public display in a cold-storage locker at a Misrata warehouse for four days after he was killed Thursday in his hometown of Sirte.

The location of the brutal dictator’s grave site was not disclosed by the interim government for fear of vandalism by his foes and veneration by his die-hard supporters.

Gadhafi, 69, was buried Tuesday along with his son Muatassim and former Defense Minister Abu Bakr Younis after the military council in the city of Misrata ordered a reluctant Muslim cleric to say the required prayers.

Libya’s new leaders hope the funeral will allow the country to turn the page on the four-decade Gadhafi era and the bloody eight-month rebellion against him. Still, the book cannot be closed completely, with unanswered questions remaining about his slaying, and his son and one-time heir apparent, Seif al-Islam, still at large.

Under international pressure to investigate the circumstances of Gadhafi’s death, the interim leaders of the National Transitional Council issued a statement late Tuesday saying they “disapprove” of any prisoner being hurt, let alone killed. It was the first time the new leadership spoke out against Gadhafi’s killing.

Libya’s uprising, which began in mid-February and quickly turned into a civil war, has decimated Gadhafi’s family. Three sons — Muatassim, Seif al-Arab and Khamis — have been killed. Gadhafi’s wife, Safiya, fled to Algeria with their daughter Aisha and sons Hannibal and Muhammed.

A senior official in neighboring Niger said Gadhafi’s son Seif al-Islam, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court on war-crimes charges for his role in trying to crush the uprising, was trying to flee there to join other regime loyalists.

The escape of the Western-educated son, once seen as a likely successor, raised the possibility of attempts to direct an insurgency against Libya’s new rulers, though it’s not clear whether exiled loyalists have the drive, money and support to do so.

Rissa ag Boula, an adviser to Niger’s president, said the younger Gadhafi is getting help from ethnic Tuaregs, who strongly supported his father.

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